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Portland schools urged to deploy stored HEPA units as staff outline new ventilation standards
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Summary
The Board of Education facility committee heard expert testimony and staff briefings on ventilation design for new schools, an inventory showing thousands of portable purifiers in storage, and questions about deployment, maintenance, and CO2 monitoring; presenters recommended full use of donated units and layered strategies combining ventilation and filtration.
The Facility Improvement and Oversight Committee of the Portland Public Schools (PPS) on April 21 heard public comment and expert testimony urging the district to move stored portable air purifiers into classrooms and to maintain stronger, consistent indoor‑air monitoring and maintenance.
The committee’s chair, Virginia LaForte, opened the meeting on indoor air quality and introduced the presenters and public commenters. Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers, told the panel she supports projects that expand filtration in classrooms and urged the district to adopt building‑specific safety plans and mandatory practices so cleaner air is sustained regardless of leadership changes.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams recommended rapid deployment and monitoring of portable HEPA purifiers, calling them “a proven low cost way” to increase clean air exchanges and reduce illness and absenteeism. Volunteer expert Effie Greathouse, with Safer Indoor Air for Oregon Schools, presented room‑by‑room measurements from McDaniel High School and Chapman Elementary showing many classrooms fall short of air‑change goals and that adding a second unit materially improves effective air changes per hour and shortens the time to clear 90% of aerosols.
District staff framed the response as layered: Tom Hodges, PPS chief of integrated operations, said the district treats indoor air quality as a safety issue and pursues ventilation, filtration, humidity control and monitoring together. Corey Squire of Bora Architecture emphasized using CO2 concentration as a holistic metric and said the district is designing new high‑school modernizations to target about 800 parts per million indoor CO2. Brad Wilson of PAE Engineers said the new HVAC designs aim for ASHRAE standards plus about 30% fresh air, producing maximum classroom air‑change rates near the 5.7–7.7 range while keeping energy impacts small.
Joanna Evenson, senior director of RISE, summarized PPS’s inventory and deployment history: districtwide deployment in 2020 delivered roughly 4,500 Intellipure units for K–8 and about 1,000 Medify units for high schools; a later donation from the Oregon Health Authority produced approximately 3,500 Medify Pro units, and Evenson said PPS has delivered more than 6,000 purifiers to date and stores about 2,500 Medify Pro units and roughly four years’ worth of replacement filters in the warehouse. She also said tracking of exact in‑school purifier locations is imprecise and that some older Intellipure units lack replacement filters.
During Q&A, committee members asked why many units were returned to storage, whether principals and custodial staff are receiving clear guidance on running two units per classroom, how frequently filters are cleaned or replaced, and whether legacy schools have routine CO2 monitoring. Staff replied that schools sometimes pushed back on noise and that maintenance and replacement are currently handled on demand; they said CO2 monitoring and digital control upgrades are being incorporated into new school designs and into older buildings as systems are upgraded.
Presenters and public commenters recommended several near‑term actions: fully deploy Medify Pro units that have filter supplies, provide clearer training and expectations for principals and custodians on when to operate dual units, formalize a maintenance schedule or pathway for filter replacement where feasible, and expand CO2 monitoring in legacy buildings as upgrades proceed. The meeting also reviewed two Portland Clean Energy Fund awards that will support HVAC upgrades, heat‑pump water heaters, window improvements and other infrastructure projects tied to climate‑friendly design.
The committee did not take a formal vote. Chair LaForte said staff will provide follow‑up information and the topic may return to a future FIO meeting.
